Biden-Harris Admin Tells Thousands Of Lebanese Nationals In US That They Don’t Have To Return Home — Yet

The Biden-Harris administration announced protected status for thousands of Lebanese nationals residing in the United States on Thursday, giving them certain deportation protections and work authorization.

Lebanese nationals currently living in the U.S. will be eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed in a press release. The new designation will last for 18 months, providing up to 11,000 Lebanese with work authorization and certain reprieve from returning to their home country as fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah terrorist group intensifies.

The designation follows the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to bring in other foreign nationals into the U.S. en masse on largely humanitarian grounds. The CHNV program — which pertains to Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans — has paroled more than half a million non-citizens into the U.S. since it was launched, according to DHS.

The White House has also paroled roughly 77,000 Afghan nationals into the U.S. after its botched military withdrawal from the country in 2021, with a watchdog report finding that many of them were not properly vetted.

“After consultation with interagency partners, Secretary Mayorkas is announcing a new TPS designation for Lebanon for 18 months due to ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in Lebanon that prevent nationals of Lebanon from returning in safety,” the DHS statement reads. “Those approved for TPS will be able to remain in the country while the United States is in discussions to achieve a diplomatic resolution for lasting stability and security across the Israel-Lebanon border.”